I am getting very good results from the training regimen I am following, so I thought I would start an online journal for those that might be interested.

Background:

I am 6'2" tall, and have weighed about 180-185lbs for most of the time that I've been working out (weight training, cardio, etc...). I have been vegan for over 16 years. I am a classic ectomorph and have always struggled to gain mass. For many years I worked the same basic routine, and every time I hit a plateau I would push myself too hard and inevitably end up injuring myself. For the past couple of years, I have been varying many aspects of my routine in order to force my body to constantly adapt, while also paying special attention to my nutritional plan. This seems to keep me from encountering the "plateaus" that used to stymie my efforts. I am now starting to develop a much more "solid" physique. I used to believe that my "frame" of bones/tendons/ligaments was fixed by genetic predetermination. Years of hitting plateaus have reinforced this. Over the past couple of years I have been doing lots of squats, deadlifts, lunges, pullups, dips, and Dumbell excercises, while cycling various aspects of my routine to keep my body from adapting. I am convinced that my bones/ligaments/tendons are significantly more substantial as a result of the constant variations in my training combined with excercises like squats, deadlifts, pullups, dips, etc...

Okay, so thats my fitness life story... As far as recent history, I was in the best shape shape of my life at the beginning of summer of 2007 (190lbs and very low body fat for me, not sure exact BF%). Unfortunately, I injured my shoulder and broke my toe which curtailed my workouts for the entire summer.

I have been back at the gym 6 days a week for the past 8 weeks. I am experiencing great results (gained 18lbs and body fat is down noticably). I thought I share my routine in case anyone is interested. Hopefully I can excercise the same discipline with my log that I excercise at the gym...

Last edited by LongTimeVegan on Sun Dec 02, 2007 6:26 am, edited 3 times in total.

I switched from Creatine Monohydrate to Creatine Ethyl-Ester today (2.5g pre and post workout). I'm expecting to lose some water weight as a result of the switch, but today my weight was up two pounds from yesterday (210.5lbs). ???

My shoulders and biceps felt REALLY pumped today... Like more than I've ever experienced in my entire life. My workout was intense, but I'm in a relatively tame part of my workout cycle (rest between each set, high reps). Time will tell whether this is a fluke or somehow related to my switch to CEE. Other than the Creatine, the only supplements I take are L-Glutamine and vitamins.

I had the biggest smile on my face when I racked the bar after that second set of squats with 205lbs...

I just had a personal record of 205lbs for ten reps last week, so being able to do two sets made me very happy. I think I will stick to this weight for a week or two more before trying to go up again. When I approach the bar I am definitely not thinking "light weight baby". Perhaps after working around 205lbs for a couple weeks I will be more confident in my ability to lift that heavy all the time.

I would have liked to keep my rest periods down to 60 seconds for the first half of my workout, but I didn't sleep much last night (3 hours! ) and I was feeling pretty fatigued before I even began my workout. Definitely need to get more rest if I'm going to continue to grow. My lower back was REALLY exhausted after squatting and I was sitting down briefly between sets to try and rest it, but after about 20 minutes it felt totally fine again. I am drinking about half as much water during my workout since switching from CM to CEE (drank 750ml today) It feels good to not be so bloated with water in my stomach. I also like that I don't feel the need to drink a bunch of water after my post-workout shake... Talk about bloat! The really weird thing is that my weight was 210.5lbs after lifting tonight, even though I consumed less water. I've read that CM causes to you to gain like 10lbs in water weight, so I was really expecting to be dropping weight fast once I stopped taking it.

Way strict form on the BB Rows so I kept it light (held bar against belly for one second at top of each rep ). I'm starting to get comfortable with the 85lb DBs for incline press, but getting into position for that first rep always makes me nervous (I don't work with a spotter). Very happy with the weights on Incline DB fly. It has taken me a long time to master this excercise, but I think I have the hang of it now. I haven't done shoulder height cable crossovers in a while (usually just do incline and decline) but I was working in with a guy who already had the machine set up that way so I gave it a go. I went relatively light on the flat DB press because my chest felt spent.

Weight is down to 209.5lbs (post workout) and I drank 1000ml of water today while lifting.

My knees are felt a little sore off and on today, but I suppose thats to be expected as I continue demand more and more of them. I'm sure they'll be fine by Tuesday when it's time to work legs again. In a few days I will have worked this current routine for two weeks, so I'll be changing the number of reps I'm doing (around 8 instead of 10), altering the rest period for my workout (no rest between first and second excercise of each compound set), and doing four sets of everything instead of three. I have three basic phases of workouts that I cycle through, and I am currently on the first one. Second phase is a little more intense, and third is absolutely brutal.

I'm really happy with my numbers tonite. I'm up 5-10lbs on all these dumbell excercises compared to when I was at this point in my cycle six weeks ago. I was doing mostly standing barbell overhead presses for the past couple weeks, but tonite I tried seated Military DB press again. I started with 45lbs, thinking I wouldn't make 10 reps, and would need to drop the weight for the other two sets... I ended up going up to 50lbs and pushed up two sets of ten. My form was strict except for the last two reps of the last set which were extremely difficult. I did a few sets of crunches after lifting. I've been slacking on abs because my BF was a little high to really see them. I'ts gradually going away, and I'm now at the point where I might actually see the results if I start working them again.

Weight was 209.0lbs post workout and I drank almost 1000ml water during my workout.

Tomorrow is scheduled to be the last day of this workout cycle (supposed to be two weeks total, lifting 6 days a week). My knees are still a little sore, and tomorrow is another leg day, so I'm debating whether I should work lighter than usual, or take my day off so I can go heavy on wednesday. I haven't taken a day off for 8 days now so I wouldn't really feel too guilty. I don't usually go that long without a day off, but I've been highly motivated lately.

Started out the day bringing home a 135lb heavy bag and carrying it up an incline driveway and over uneven terrain to it's new home. I thought this would be a piece of cake, but I had to carry it by "hugging" it to make it through some narrow areas, and it really exhausted my back! I was sure this would make squatting heavy tonight impossible, so I was nervous all day about going to the gym...

After warming up with 8 reps of 135, I jumped into my heavy squats and was pleasantly surprised! Three sets of 10 with 205lbs and super strict form is a major accomplishment for me. When I did 205lbs for two sets last Saturday my back was rocked. I could hardly stand up straight afterwords, but tonight my back felt totally capable of managing the weight!!! I was however, on the verge of throwing up after the second set (from exhaustion). Compound setting squats and lunges like this with short or no rest period really takes it out of me. My heartrate was up pretty high throughout my entire workout. After squats and lunges I was ready to go home and my legs felt like vegan jello.

Seated extensions and curls gave me a second to catch my breath, and then it was on to the dreaded DB Squat. Was sure I would end up puking, but grabbed the 85lb DBs and went at it. Finished with standing calf raises (1 second pause at bottom and top of movement), and managed to keep my pre-workout meal in my gut.

I drank 1250ml water while lifting and weighed 208.0lbs post-workout.

Starting tomorrow, I will be changing to a 4x8 superset routine (2 excercises per set) routine for the next two weeks, and a 5x6 superset routine (4 excercises per set) for the two weeks after that.

I think I can see 225 on the horizon when I get into the 6 rep routine...

This is the first time I've ever incline-pressed 90lb dumbells! I can't believe I made 8 reps. Flat Pressing 80lb DBs is a personal best as well, so pushing three sets makes me very happy. I am starting to get way better at getting into position for my first rep with those heavy DBs. Slight strain in my right front delt/shoulder but I think it will be gone tomorrow.

My knees still felt a little dodgy, so I almost put this workout off until tomorrow. I'm glad I did it today because I had great results. New personal best for squatting with 215lbs for 8 reps... Yeah buddy!

The bent over barbell rows were the only thing I felt weak on tonite. I think my back is still tired from squatting yesterday.

Haven't done "palms-in" incline DB press for a while so threw that in for a change. New personal best on Flat DB Press tonight pushing 85lb dumbells for 3 sets! My technique for getting from sitting with DBs on legs to laying for the first rep is getting sick!!! I think I could have managed 90lb DBs, but I wouldn't have made 8 reps. Once I "bump" the DB in my right hand into position using my right leg, I bump the left one up, but continue to support it with the left leg for the beginning of my descent into laying position. Maybe this is old news for everyone else, but it took me a long time to really get it dialed...

My weight has been hovering in the 208-212lb range for the past couple weeks. I guess that means I'm still losing some fat, since I continue to get stronger. This is not "dry weight", because I don't have a scale at home and I work out in the evenings, but I do weigh myself at the same time every day, so I believe it gives me a rough idea of my progress.

My left elbow was hurting a bit today. I think it was from pressing yesterday, but I also dinged the bone on the inside of my elbow the other day, and it's still bruised, so maybe it's a combination of both.

Anyways, I took it relatively easy today with the various curls, and concentrated on getting a really intense muscle contraction. The incline curls with 40lb DBs was a PB for me last week, but this week they actually felt kinda light for the first two sets. I would have tried 45lbs if it weren't for my elbow. Moved up a bit on the cable tricep pushdown, but was cautious here as well. Palms in close grip DB press is a new weight for me, and it felt good - nice tricep and inner chest contractions. I am trying to improve my form on the standing overhead BB press, and the weights reflect that. I was rewarded with some burning delts (still burn now, 3 hours later!).

I have a pretty hectic day tomorrow, and it's supposed to be my day off from the gym. That would make Wednesday legs again...

Standing Calf Raise Machine: 4x8 with: 120,120,110,110,100,100,100,100lbs
(held contraction for 1 second at top of each rep, 60 seconds between sets)

Only minor improvement in my Wide-Stance BB squat tonite. I was struggling to keep my knees from "going in" on the last couple reps at 215lbs. Racking the bar in the squat rack and immediately picking up those DBs for some lunges is always fun. I actually started with 45lb DBs for my lunges, knowing I would be rocked by these supersets, but once I saw my squat weight wasn't going up tonite, I upped the weight on the lunges... yeah buddy.

My weights for Leg Extensions and Curls are both up, which is good. By the time I finished these, my legs were DONE.

I was a little bummed about minimal BB Squat gains, I decided to try for a new personal best, Dumbell Squatting 180lbs, for 4 sets of 8 reps. This was nice, but the lying ham curl was not. My hamstrings were fried by this point, so no real improvement there.

Finished up with 8 sets of 15 on the Standing Calf Machine. Got some nice stimulation by holding the top position for 1 second on each rep.

I got stuck trying to get into position for my first set with 90lb DBs on incline-press.... Luckily someone was nearby to help, but I really strained my right shoulder and chest before getting help, which haunted me the rest of the workout. Performed all reps without assistance, but did need a spot to get set up to starting position on first set. I took my frustration out by doing my one-arm rows with a 90lb DB.

I did hit some nice numbers on the wide grip pulldown. Progressively dropped weight with each set on the incline DB flys and played with my form, since I wasn't going to be able to go heavier here. New PB on the seated rear delt machine . Hopefully this will translate into better performance on my incline bench DB lateral raises. Also had some nice numbers on the Seated Plate Loaded Calf Raise machine.

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